2-UNIT STUDIES OF RELIGION



STUDIES OF RELIGION PRELIMINARY COURSE

DEPTH STUDY 2: CHRISTIANITY

JESUS CHRIST SON OF GOD

|IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS |

|Bible |The sacred book of Christians consisting of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. It is the written record of God’s|

| |revelation. |

|Christian |A follower of Jesus Christ. |

|Salvation |Union with God brought about through Jesus Christ. |

|Saviour |One who saves others from death and evil – in Christianity, Jesus Christ. |

Character Profile of Jesus

1. Write brief answers to each of the following questions:

• Birth date:

• Where was he born?

• Mother’s name

• Father’s name

• Name some events from his childhood.

• What were some of his likes?

• What were some of his dislikes?

• What was his attitude towards:

Roman rule

Pharisees

Sadducees

Outcasts?

• What did he value?

• What was the political situation at the time of Jesus?

• What do you know about the land and the culture where Jesus lived?

• With whom did he associate?

What problems did this cause him?

• What were some of the names that Jesus was referred to as?

• Any other information that you can add.

• Why do we as Christians still follow Christ after 2000 years?

• Who is Jesus to you?

2. In groups of three,

– discuss what you have written.

– on butcher’s paper design a combined character profile of Jesus.

– find examples in the Gospels to support what you have written.

– present the group’s character profile to the class.

Jesus of History Christ of Faith

To prove the historical existence of any person we can use a variety of sources of information. These then corroborate each other to give a fuller picture of the person in question.

Jesus of History

• Factual information about Jesus that can be proven through a variety of sources (for example, documents, stories, artefacts).

• Matter of historical record.

• Perhaps the best proof is the impact Jesus has had on history itself and the people who make up that history.

• The name Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation”. Jesus was Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Bar Joseph (Son of Joseph) or Jesus the Carpenter – this we can prove.

• The name Jesus gives him a life: HISTORICAL FACT – he lived at a certain time, in a certain place, had parents and friends, did a certain kind of work, died in a certain way – these facts can be proven.

Christ of Faith

• What we believe about Jesus through faith – we cannot prove it.

• Interpretation about Jesus which goes beyond the historical fact of his existence, but is always connected to it.

• The name Christ is a Greek word – Chairos / Christos (Chai + rho = X P), meaning the messiah (saviour) or anointed one.

• Leaders and kings were anointed with oil during special events. Therefore Jesus is given special status when he was called Christ after his death.

• The title Christ refers to who people considered him to be – the Saviour of All Mankind – a belief which cannot be proven.

• Therefore Christians are those who believe in Jesus as “the Christ”.

Examine the profile of Jesus that you came up with in your group. List three descriptors that belong to the category “Jesus of history” and three that belong to the category “Christ of faith”.

|Jesus of History (from profile) |Christ of Faith (from profile) |

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History of Palestine

• Palestine was born when Abraham entered the kingdom promised him by Yahweh.

• For many years Palestine was one kingdom, but eventually it was divided into two: Israel and Judah. The northern region of Israel was known as Galilee. Samaria was a city of Israel.

• Eventually the Assyrians invaded Israel and took the Jews into exile. They called the region so formed Samaria.

• When the Jews were allowed to return from exile, they moved into the southern part of Palestine, now called Judea.

• At the time of Christ, Palestine consisted of Galilee in the north and Judea in the south, separated by Samaria.

Using the chronology of the Bible towards the end of the Good News Bible, answer the following questions.

1. What does “c” mean?

2. In approximately what year did Abraham come to Palestine?

3. For how many years were the descendants of Jacob in Slavery in Egypt?

4. For how many years was Israel under the leadership of Judges? (You will need to calculate the number of years between Joshua invading Canaan and the reign of the first king, Saul.)

5. For how many years was Israel united under one king, before there was a split into the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel?

6. When did the city of Samaria fall?

7. When did Jerusalem fall?

8. When were the Jews allowed to return to Judea?

Find the map “Palestine in the Time of Jesus” towards the end of the Good News Bible.

1. Using a ruler and the scale given for the map, calculate the distance in kilometres from the northern border to the southern border of Palestine.

2. Calculate the distance from the eastern to the western border of Palestine.

3. What is the approximate area of Palestine in the time of Jesus?

Political Context Around the Time of Jesus

For nearly 600 years before Jesus was born, Palestine, the land of the Jewish people, was under foreign rule. At the end of the Old Testament period there were the Babylonians and Persians. In the time between the Old and New Testaments, four more ruling powers held the land. The Jews governed themselves for only one brief spell of eighty years.

Time Line of Key Political Events

Read the information below, then construct a time line to summarise the key events that took place in Palestine in 332 BCE, 323 BCE, 198 BCE, 167 BCE, 164 BCE, 104 BCE, 63 BCE, 48 BCE, 44 BCE, 37 BCE, 4 BCE, 6 CE, 26 CE.

In 332 BCE the Greek General Alexander the Great took Palestine into the Greek Empire. Some Jews adopted the Greek way of life, giving their children Greek names and learning to speak the language.

Nine years later, Alexander died and the empire was divided among his generals. General Ptolemy became the ruler of Egypt and his lands included Palestine. He did not interfere with Jewish life or religion.

Another of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus became ruler of Syria. The kings of his line conquered the Ptolemies (Greek rulers of Egypt). In 198 BCE they took control of Palestine. Antiochus IV, a later king, proved harsh and cruel. Many loyal Jews suffered under his rule. He went so far as to place a pagan altar in the temple at Jerusalem – and in 167 BCE the Jews revolted.

The Jewish revolt against the Seleucids was led by Judas, Jonathan and Simon, the three sons of a priest. After three years of fighting, during which Judas became known as “Maccabaeus” (the hammerer), the family managed to gain control of their own country. They were known as the Maccabees or Hasmoneans. They ruled Palestine as a theocracy (a government by priests, or by a religious institution claiming to be directed by God). Under this theocracy, various Jewish religious “parties” plotted revolution and struggled for power. Among these parties were the Essenes, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. In 104 BCE John Hyrcanus became the High Priest and ruler.

The Hasmoneans were bad rulers, always fighting among themselves. In 63 BCE the Roman general, Pompey, took advantage of this and claimed Judea for Rome. In 48 BCE, Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, and then in 44 BCE Caesar was assassinated. The successor to the Roman Empire, Mark Antony, named Herod Tetrarch of Palestine (ruler of this one quarter of the empire but under the authority of Rome) in 37 BCE.

In 4 BCE Herod died and Palestine was divided into three. Galilee in the north went to his son Herod Antipas and Judea (including Jerusalem) in the south went to another son, Archelaus.

Archelaus was such a harsh ruler that in 6 CE the Romans had to bring in a Governor to take over Judea. From 26 – 36 CE the Governor was Pontius Pilate.

The Romans usually allowed people to continue with their own religion. So the Jews had their own religious authorities, based in Jerusalem. The High Priest and the main council, called the Sanhedrin, had control over all religious matters. They could punish people who had done wrong, but they were not allowed to put anyone to death.

Time Line

Jewish Attitude to Rome

In the time of Jesus the Jews looked for God to intervene in many different ways.

Some Jews looked for –

• A revolutionary, political leader who would overthrow the power of Rome.

• A period of peace and prosperity in which they could live and bring up their children without fear.

• A king who would bring justice among the people.

• A king of the poor, oppressed and those who had no voice.

• God to send his Chosen One to establish a kingdom for the Jews of Jerusalem.

Watch the extract from the DVD entitled Life of Brian (Ch. 6 & 7), then answer the following questions.

1. Describe the general Jewish attitude to Roman occupation and rule.

2. The character of Brian is a person who was mistaken for Jesus, the Messiah. Brian’s role as the Messiah reflects a misperception regarding the purpose of the Messiah, held by many Jewish people. What is this misperception?

In the Bible, the Kingdom of God means God’s active reign in the world. Jesus’ idea of Kingdom was very different to that of the Jews. Jesus taught that –

• The Kingdom was already here.

• The Kingdom was a spiritual rather than material reality.

• His death on the cross is the key to the Kingdom, to the way we enter.

• The Kingdom in its fullness is yet to come, it will fully come when Jesus returns.

Social Context

The Pharisees

Strict Jews, who tried to keep every part of the Law written in the Old Testament. Most of the scribes (educated people who could write) were Pharisees. So too were the lawyers, who taught people the Law and explained its meaning.

The Sadducees

Upper class Jewish leaders, mostly members of the families of priests, who took a less strict approach to the Law than the Pharisees. They had to be friendly towards the Romans, to keep their position. They were therefore mistrusted by most other Jews and unpopular with the ordinary people because of the profit they made from the temple market.

The Essenes

Even stricter than the Pharisees. Many of them lived in groups out in the desert. They tried to keep the Jewish religion pure and free from outside influences.

The Zealots

Nationalists, who hated the Romans. They formed themselves into small bands of freedom fighters, dedicated to ridding the country of the foreign power. Their ambition was to return to the days when God ruled Israel – to bring in the Kingdom of God.

The Religious Context Into Which Jesus Was Born

Christians today look on the Old Testament of the Bible as an important foundation for their religion. In the books from Genesis to Malachi, Christians believe some important themes are established which still hold true for Christianity:

• God created the world and human beings are to be responsible stewards of the earth.

• God desires a relationship with human beings and human beings are capable of knowing God or relating to God.

• God established a covenant (agreement) with the Jewish people through Abraham and Sarah, and through Moses. Through this covenant the Jewish people were the people of God, and in return the Israelites were to fulfil the moral and spiritual obligations of being a covenant people.

• God demands righteousness and justice and human beings, individually and in groups continually fail to meet God’s standards.

• The Ten Commandments are the clearest exposition of God’s standards.

• God provided the means of redeeming the people from sin through a system of offering sacrifices.

• God sent prophets to the Jewish people to remind them of the demands of God and to call them to repentance, justice, goodness and mercy.

The Life of Jesus

Below are listed eight stages in the life of a heroic sacred person. There are also listed a number of references to passages in the New Testament gospels about Jesus of Nazareth. Match each Bible passage with the stage in Jesus’ life which the passage describes. Then, in the table which follows, fill in some details about these stages, using brief, point form summaries from either these passages or your own knowledge.

|Mark 6:56 |Ministry | |

|Mark 1:12-13 |Crisis | |

|Luke 24:36-52 (note the Chapter heading) |Withdrawal/Reflection | |

|John 19:1-6 |Birth | |

|Matthew 3:13-17 |Special Contribution to Salvation | |

|Luke 2:41-52 |Decision Point or Call | |

|Matthew 1:18-25 |Growing Up | |

|Matthew 2:1-12 |Death | |

|Luke 2:8-20 | | |

|Luke 23:44-46 | | |

|Mark 15:37-39 | | |

|Stage |Details |

|Birth | |

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|Growing Up | |

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|Decision Point or Call | |

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|Reflection or Withdrawal | |

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|Crisis | |

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|Death | |

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|Special Contribution to | |

|Salvation | |

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The Ministry of Jesus

The mind-map on the following page shows six distinctive features of Jesus’ ministry. Match each of the gospel passages with the corresponding feature of Jesus’ ministry.

|Luke 8:22-25 |Mark 1:21-28 |John 15:8-9 |Matthew 5:31-32 |

|Luke 4:31-37 |Mark 4:30-32 |John 8:1-11 |Matthew 22:1-4 |

|Luke 8:40-46 |Mark 10:20-22 |John 9:1-34 |Matthew 8:2-4 |

|Luke 20:45-47 |Mark 12:14-44 |John 19:17-19 |Matthew 13:31-32 |

|Luke 8:4-8 |Mark 1:14 | |Matthew 26:26-28 |

|Luke 13:10-17 |Mark 12:28-31 | |Matthew 28:5-6 |

|Luke 4:18-19 |Mark 8:29, 31 | |Matthew 28:18-20 |

References

Apostolic Constitution. (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Homebush: St Pauls.

Bartlett, T. (2000). New studies of religion: preliminary course depth study 2: Christianity.

Board of Studies. (1999). Stage 6 syllabus: studies of religion. Sydney: Board of Studies New South Wales.

Brown, S., F. (1991). Christianity: World religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc.

Burke, A. (1988). Dimensions of Christianity. Oxford: Mayhew Publications.

Chapman, G., Cleese, J., Gillian, T., Idle, E., Jones, T., & Palin, M. (1979). Life of Brian. In T. Jones (Ed.). Hong Kong.

Charpentier, E. (1981). How to read the New Testament (J. Bowden, Trans.). London: SCM Press.

Cole, W., Owen. (1993). The Christian Bible. Oxford: Heinemann Educational.

Courtie, B., & Johnson, M. (1990). Christianity explored. Oxford: Lion Publishing plc.

Crawford, M. (1991). Beginnings (Vol. 1). Newtown: E. J. Dwyer.

Fleming, L. (1998). Studies of religion. Glebe: Pascal Press.

Good news bible. (1979). Canberra: The Bible Society in Australia Inc.

Klein, P. (2000). The Catholic source book (3rd ed.). Dubuque: Brown-Roa.

Lovat, T., & McGrath, J. (Eds.). (1999). New studies in religion. Katoomba: Social Science Press.

Morrissey, J., Mudge, P., O'Reilly, P., Riener, K., & Coyle, A. (2000). Out of the desert (Vol. 4). Sydney: Longman.

© Emmaus Publications (2003). Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge all materials used. This material may be photocopied for educational use only.

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Students learn about the origins and history of Christianity –

• The historical and cultural context in which Christianity began

– background to Christianity.

– Judaism and the Jewish Scriptures.

– the Greek and Roman world of the first century CE.

• The founding of Christianity

– the life of Jesus.

– his birth, teaching and ministry, death and resurrection and ascension.

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Oral

- stories

- interviews

- speeches

Written

- books

- letters

- documents

- diaries

- scrolls

Visual

- pictures

- photographs

- carvings

Archaeological

- coins

- statues

- pottery

- clothing

- implements

Suffering/death/resurrection

Restoration of life

Exorcism

Nature

Healing

Doctrine

Parables

Jesus taught about the Kingdom

Jesus challenged the religious authorities of his day

Jesus identified closely with the poor and dispossessed

Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand

Jesus performed miracles

Jesus had a sense of intimacy with and total dependence on God, whom he called Father

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